Fibrous product and method of making the same



Sept. 19, 1933. T. ROBINSON FIBROUS FRODUCT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z INFIOR g AumM w i ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1933. T ROBINSON 1,927,047

FIBROUS PRODUCT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 18, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nun-44 41 n n ;;:":"i;"\'," Jv Lv v A-kvy lzfi 60 I 7 67 ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 19, 19.33

FIBROUS PRODUCT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Thomas Robinson, New York, N. Y., assignor to Lancaster Processes, Inc., Long Island City, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 18, 1931 Serial No. 575,758

22 Claims.

This invention relates to fibrous products suitable for use as floor coverings, sidings, roofings, and for other similar purposes, and is concerned more particularly with a novel fibrous product and a method by which it can be .made cheaply and expeditiously in a variety of forms having different characteristics, shapes, surface finishes, etc.

The product of my invention comprises fibrous material, such as defelted waste paper stock, and a binder therefor, which is preferably an emulsion, for example, of bituminous material. The mixture of fibre and emulsion is capable of being formed into webs of indefinite length, sheets, shingles, sidings, and the like, while the emulsion is in non-adhesive condition, and after the forming operations, the product is dried to drive off water and cause the asphalt to resume its adhesive condition and act as the binding agent. The new material may be made in sheets, boards, etc. of any desired thickness and homogeneous throughout, additional ingredients acting as fillers being employed in the thicker sizes. Regard less of its thickness, the material is not built up of a plurality of laminations secured together, but of a single felted mass of a substantially uniform character from one face to the other. The product may, if desired, be provided with an interior reinforcement, which is interlocked with' the fibrous mass on either face thereof so that separation of the fibrous material from the reinforcement is prevented, and the new material may be made to have substantial rigidity or .to have yielding qualities. Also, it may be coated during the formation thereof so as to have different surface finishes, as desired, and it may have a natural rough surface, particularly desirable in roofing by reason of the texture which it gives to the roof, or it may be made smooth, or with projections arranged in accordance with a regular pattern.

According to the new method, the fibrous stock is' subjected to a continuous defibring action, and the emulsion and fibrous material are mixed together and the emulsion widely and uniformly distributed through the fibrous mass. Preferably the emulsion is produced at the same time and in the same apparatus used for defibring and fresh materials to be defibred and emulsified are continuously fed and an equivalent amount of the pulp-emulsion mixture continuously withdrawn from the apparatus. is then fed to a continuous forming machine or filter where the mixture is sheeted out on wire belt by high vacuum action. In this operation, a homogeneous web may be produced and the production of products of various kinds includ- The pulp-emulsion mixture operation is carried on under such conditions that but little of the emulsion and fine material in the mass is lost. Instead of making a web, it is equally simple to form the mass into small sheets or units suitable for use as shingles and, during the formation of any' of these products, they may be coated with a material which hardens and toughens the surface and also permits of the production of the desired color effects. Also, a reinforcement may be incorporated in the products during formation. w

After the operations theproduct in any of its several forms is dried to expel water and render the emulsion active as a binding agent. Final I surfacing operations are next performed to complete the process of manufacture.

For a better understanding of the' invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in longitudinal section of apparatus which may be used for practicing the new process;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the complete apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig.4is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the apparatus which may be for producing a modified form of product; a

Fig. 5 is a view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view showing a portion of Fig. 5; r

Fig. '7 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section illustrating a modifiedapparatus;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing part of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 'l but on a larger scale; s

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9-9 0 Fig. '7;

Fig. 10 is a apparatus;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but showing a modification; and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a shingle unit produced by the new process.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings is arranged for practicing the complete method of producing the novel fibrous products from the raw material, and the new method of my invention may be practiced on this apparatus in the plan view of a portion of the ing felted sheets of definite or indefinite length,

with or without a reinforcement, and shingle units, both of the single and multiple types. These materials can be made with varying characteristics and different surface finishes. I

The apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings is constructed for the practice of the method of producing a felted sheet of indefinite length and having no reinforcement, this sheet being provided with a surface finish during its manufacture. In the apparatus, the fibrous'material employed is waste paper stock which is reduced to a pulp, an emulsion of a bituminous substance, such as asphalt, is produced simultaneously with the pulping operation and distributed through the pulp to produce a pulp-emulsion mixture of the desired character, and this mixture is then continuously formed into a sheet by means ard construction may be used; The waste paperis introduced in the hammer. mill inthe usual way andtorn in the mill into pieces of a relatively small size which are carried off through a line 21 to a conditioning tank 22. In the tank,

the paper 'is discharged into water heated to a suitable temperature, such as 160 to 170 F., and

containing. a mild alkaline detergent in small amount, such as potassium abietate, tri-sodium.

with the paper in suspension flows from the 1 bottom of the tankv at the desired rate through.

a line 23 to a pulping apparatus 24.

The apparatus 24 which I prefer to use for the purpose is that illustrated insdetail in my co-pending application, Serial No. 572,130, filed October 30, 1931, and as disclosed in that application it includes mechanism by which the paper suspended in water is reduced to fibrous condition by passing through tubes 25 in which high velocity blades act on the paper to defibreit and free the loading materials therefrom. The paper and water fiow through the apparatus in a circulating stream and the paper may be subjected to the action of the bladesanumber of times so as to effect a complete defibring action. The apparatus also includes emulsifying devices which may take the form of a tube similar to the defibring tubes and containing high velocity blades. Through this tube flows a stream of water containing in suspension the colloidal substance present in the paper for loading purposes and released therefrom by defibring, the detergent, and a small amount of fine fibres. Preferably, the emulsifying tube is constructed so as to be in communication with the circulating stream of water and paper undergoing disintegration but the paper and pulp are strained out of the fluid passing through the emulsifying tube by any suitable means. Asphalt in fluent condition is introduced into the water containing the colloidal substances and detergent and, thereafter the stream is highly agitated, the asphalt becoming emulsified in the usual manner. The emulsion is carried along with the stream back into the main body of fluid and paper, and passes through the defibring tubes with the paper in subsequent circulating fiow. In those tubes,

a thorough defibring action of the paperand a' complete distribution of the emulsion through the pulp are accomplished.

In the apparatus as illustrated in the co-pendwages? "from the stuff chest by the pump 28, circulated ing application above-identified, classif means are provided for discharging through the line 26 a pulp-emulsion mixture containing only such pulp as has reached the desired degree of disintegration. This mixture flows through. the line 26 into a stuff chest 27 and from there is fed by a pump 28 through a line 29 to the continuous forming apparatus or filter generally designated 30.

' This apparatus is more clearly illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. It includes a cylinder 31 having solid ends and covering the side wall of the cyl-' inder is a wire screen 32 of a suitable fine mesh, this screen being spaced from the cylinder wall by bars 33 running from end to end of the cylinder. Suction pipes 34 in the interior of the cylinder lead from the spaces between a pair of bars and beneath the screen 32, and there may be one pipe. for-each such space .or, if the cylinder has considerable length, several pipes may be used. In the construction shown, thereare four such pipes and these pipes lead to a central tube 35 leading out the end of the cylinder and connected bya vacuum line 36 to a suitable vacuum pump. The pumpapplies a high 100 suitable wayso that a portion of it enters a A vat 3'7, connected at one side to the line 29 at 105 38. The vat has an overflow chamber or trough 39 at the .opposite side, the overflow trough being connected by a line 40to the stuff chest 27.

.With this arrangement, the pulp-emulsion mixture suspended in water is continuously drawn through the vat 3'7, and returned to the chest.

A standard Fourdrinier wire belt istrained about thesurface of the forming drum and it lies in contact with the surface of the drum throughout that portion of the drum which lies beneath the liquid in the vat 37. Asthe drum rotates with the vacuum pump in operation, the

.high suction through the pipes 34 causes pulp permeated by emulsion to be drawn against the surface of the belt 41 to build up a fibrous layer or cake containing emulsion and this building up of the cake continues as the drum and belt move through the vat. By using a high vacuum and rotating the drum at a suitable speed, a

cake of substantial thickness can be deposited upon the wire and this cake is homogeneous and the fibres through it are thoroughly matted, there being no laminations.

I am aware that it has been proposed to produce fibrous sheets by paper-making. machines of the wet or multi-cylinder types but such processes do not produce a sheet having the same characteristics as mine. I

In the wet machine, the screen cylinder rotates in a vat containing pulp in suspension in water and the water is circulated through the vat and leaves through a part of the cylinder, the deposition effect being similar to that of a.low vacuum. In a single movement of the screen through the liquid, a very thin layer of pulp is deposited on the cylinder surface and, as a consequence, much of the fine material including the emulsion is drawn through the layer and carried off with the water which passes through the layer.' This is known as the first surge effect and results in the production of a layer which contains a greater proportion of fibrous material and a much less proportion of the emulsion than the original mixture in suspension, Also much of the 1.5.0

pleted and put into use.

fine materials is lost. In order to produce a sheet of substantial thickness on such a machine, the

cylinder must be rotated a number of times with,

*that there is a first surge effect on each of the sheets undergoes the first surge effect with con-- thin layers of pulp deposited on the surface and this withdraws valuable constituents from the mixture of which the sheet is being-made.

In the multi-cylinder process, a number of screen cylinders and vats'are employed and a thin sheet is produced on each one continuously. The several thin sheets are then drawn off and brought together for assembly by pressure; Each of these sequent loss of the fine constituents and emulsion and the composite sheet is made up of a plurality of laminations which is objectionable.

In my method, the sheet is built up to substantial thickness as the forming cylinder rotates, by means of high vacuum which has a depositing effect many times in excess of the equivalent effect produced on the wet or multi-cylinder machines. The deposited sheet contains no laminations, is of indefinite length, and there is little loss of colloidal material and emulsion from the pulp, since there is only a single first surge effect for the entire thick cake, whereas in the wet and multi-cylinder machines, this effect takes place as each lamination is deposited. The new product is also superior to those previously made from pulp-emulsion mixtures since no additional emulsifying agent, such as clay, has been introduced. In my process, I employ the loading materials such as kaolin, casein, etc. freed from the paper by disintegration for emulsifying purposes, while in the prior processes, the emulson hasbeen produced ordinarily by means of a suspension of clay in water. The additional clay thus enters the pulp-emulsion mixture and is present in the final product. This is objectionable since it reduces the heat insulating qualities of the material and renders it less water proof. Also, my process is cheaper, since it avoids the use of foreign emulsifying agents, and it produces a better fibrous product.

The deposition of the fibrous cake by high vacuum on the wire in the manner described offers additional advantages. Due to the high vacuum action, the fibres are drawn more closely together and better matted than in the laminated sheets produced on the wet and multi-cylinder machines, and there is less likelihood of breakage of the sheet, because the drum which I am able to use is much larger in diameter than those used on the former machines and the flatter arc of the deposit surface subjects the sheet to less strain resulting in cracking or breaking apart.

The process is continuous and the deposited cake is supported until it has been dried, so that the sheet is made stronger.

After the drum carrying the deposited cake rotates to remove the deposited mass from the vat, the vacuum action is continued for a substantial period to dewater the cake and the latter remains in contact with the drum and subjected to the high vacuum throughout the greater of its outer surface.

part of one rotation of the drum.- This effects removal of most of the water and the continued vacuum action on the cake may also be used to advantage in connection with the application of a coating to the sheet. For this purpose, a

trough 42 is mounted near the surface of the drum-on the upwardly moving side, this trough having an overflow plate 43 which lies close to the surface of the drum and permits distribution of coating material on the cake as the latter moves by the trough. Various coating materials may be employed as desired but for the production of sheet roofing or shingles, the coating preferably contains cem'ent'and an emulsion of asphalt, pitch or the like, plus a mineral coloring. As this. coating mixture is distributed on the surface of the fibrous cake, it is drawn into the latter by the action of the vacuum and permeates the cake to a substantial extent in the vicinity The coating is thus bound securely to the fibrous mass and, when cement is used, the cement hardens and toughens the outer layer of the cake so as to give it good wearing qualities, and also make it fireproof.

In the production of afibrous material which is tohave smooth surfaces, I may make use of a belt 44 trained about guide rolls 45 and lying in contact with the cake on the drum for a portion of its periphery to remove or flatten natural irregularities resulting from the manner of forming the cake. This belt may be of canvas or the like and, as it is in contact with a portion of the deposited sheet which is being subjected to the high vacuum action, the belt is drawn into close contact with the sheet. The belt serves to eliminate the natural rough surface which the sheet would otherwise have and also prevents air cracking. For many purposes, however, where the rough surface is desired, as in the production of shingles, the belt will not be employed,

As the Fourdrinier wire belt 41 leaves the sur face of the drum, it passes beneath the guide roller 46 and enters a drying chamber 47. This drier may be of any suitable construction but will preferably include steam coils and be arranged for continuous circulation of air to carry off water vapor evaporated from the sheet. If desired, a coating operation may be carried on within the drier by means of a device 48 which distributes a suitable coating material on the surface of the sheet. This coating device may be used ,in conjunction with the coating trough 42 or in replacement therefor. When a cement coating is applied to the sheet on the surface of the drum, solutions ofmetallic salts, such as copper salts, may be distributed over the surface of the coating within the drier so as to give the coating the desired color. The coating device may also be employed to give the sheet a glazed surface or apply a coating including wax which may be buffed to produce a high polished finish.

As the wire belt with the sheet leaves the drier, the sheet leaves the belt and passes through calender rolls 49 which compress and condense it,

while the wire belt is carried around a guide roll 50 and may then be cleaned if that is found necessary. Since the emulsion which is nonadhesive at the time of application has become adheseive in the drier and some of this adhesive may have adhered to the wire, the cleaning treatment may be necessary to insure that none of the openings in the wire become clogged. Various cleaning devices may be employed for the purpose, but I prefer to lead the wire beneath a guide roll 51 above a collecting vessel 52 and spray a solvent for the asphalt upon the wire through a nozzle 53.

From the cleaning device, the wire is led back to the guide roll 54 near the surface of the form ing cylinder.

When it is desired to make a flexible yielding product, no pressure is applied to the sheet untilsure, as by calender rolls, before it is dried, the

; out the edges to give them a taper.

overlaps the solid ends of the latter. of fibrous material deposited on the wire is, thereresulting product is dense and more rigid.

In'some cases, it may be desired to give the product a'patterned finish and this can be accomplished by using calender rolls having an embossed surface suitable for the purpose. Also cuttingdevices may be used beyond the calender rolls to cut the sheet into lengths suitable. for rolling. I a

In Fig. 3, there is illustrated in cross-section a sheet deposited on the wire belt, this sheet carrying a coating 55. It will be noted that the sheet is of substantial thickness and without lamina tion, and it is much thicker than can be produced without lamination on the wet or multi-cylinder machines heretofore used. The wire belt employed in my machine is of somewhat less width than the length of the forming drum but slightly The layer fore, likely to be thinner at the edges of the wire, as indicated at 56 and the actionof the vacuum onthe. cake after it leaves the vat tends to flatten This is highly desirable in the production of shingles as will presently be explained.

In some instances, it may be desirable to produce a reinforced sheet and this is readily accomplished by the mechanism illustrated in Figure 4. The reinforcing material employed is any suitable foraminous webbing and I prefer to employ a light scrimor cheese cloth 57. A supply 58 of this material is mounted at one side of the forming cylinder and the scrim enters the vat over a guide roll 59 and is laid on the surface of the cake after a portion of the deposition of the latter has taken place. As additional pulp isdeposited over the scrim, the fibres are drawn through the openings in the scrim, as illustrated in Fig. 6, and this produces a reinforced sheet without 'distinct laminations since the fibres are interlocked through the reinforcement. Instead of employing a single reinforcing layer, it will, be

with the new method, I blank off or mask portions of the Fourdrimer wire to bring about the deposit thereon of units of the desired size and shape. I contemplate that the wire may be permanently blanked or masked to give it a stencil effect by closing certain of the meshes thereof by any suitable paint or the like, although I prefer to employ a detachable stencil sheet or belt so that the same wire can be used both for sheet and shingle production- In the manufacture of individual shingles, I may employ a stencil belt '60 which overlies the Fourdrinier wire and is .in Fig. 7 and does not pass through the drier.

mama? so as to preventthepulp as itis' picked up fromthe vat from being held on thesebars' by engagement with the pulp masses held against the wire by the vacuum eifect. thin rubber, for example, A" thick, and as it lies outside the wire belt, it gives the deposited shingles an edge which is fairly well defined. It

The belt is preferably of would be undesirable to run this thin rubber belt through the drier and when it is used, the Fourdrinier wire belt is of short length as illustrated The shingles which are formed on the wire are then carried oiI on a conveyor belt 61 through the drier.- Insome cases, it may be desirable not to run the Fourdrinier wire through the drier in connection with the manufacture of a web or sheet in which case, a wire may be used as illustrated in Fig.

The stencil belt may also be used in the manufacture of stripshingles, in which case the belt will have the general shape illustrated in Fig. 11. In this construction, the shingles are formed with tabs 62 defined by cut-outs 63, the belt having tongues extending inwardly from one edge to produce the cut-outs. J

In the production of both types of shingles, it is desirable to give the shingle bodies a taper from one end to the other so that they may be laid properly on the roof and this may be conveniently accomplished by means of a doctor blade 64 mounted within the vat 37 near the out- .flow therefrom. This doctor blade is illustrated more clearly in Fig. 9 and it has portions 65 which lie close to the surface of the forming cylinder and other portions 66 that lie farther therefrom. This doctor blade scrapes off a portion of the pulp from the surface of the deposited units and results in the production oftapered units, such as that designated 67 in Fig. 12-.

In the production of shingles, it is preferable to permit these shingles to have the naturally rough surface which results from deposition of the pulp on the wire in the manner described and, accordingly, the. fabric belt 44 and the cal-' ender rolls 49 will not be used in shingle production. By omitting these operations, the shingles have a rough surface and an irregular edge which gives texture to the roof and makes them much moredesirable than ordinary prepared shingles, which are highly uniform in shape and appearance.

When it is desired to produce a fibrous prod not of substantial thickness measures must be taken to make the pulp-emulsion mixture free so that the vacuum action will be eifective to build up a thick sheet and to dewater'the sheet. I have found that it is possible to give the pulp the desired freeness by the use of bulking or filling materials which are distributed through the pulp-emulsion mixture before it is deposited on the wire belt in the filter. These materials are finely divided but the size of-the particles is much greater than that of colloidal substances. Preferably, the filling materials are of the same general class as the material that is present-as an emulsion, and, when an asphalt emulsion is I a filler is deposited on the belt by high vacuumaction, a layer can be produced which'is much thicker than can be made without lamination resume their adhesive character.

but for thicker products such as wall boards or thick butt shingles, the use of such a means as the filling material for keeping the pulp free is essential. The filler permits the vacuum to build up thick layers and also keeps such-thick products from collapsing when the water contained therein is evaporated.

When the filling material is of the same general character as the emulsified material, a superior bond between the emulsion and the particles of filling material is' obtained. I have found that when ground high melt point asphalt is used as the filler, the colloidal particles of the emulsion make an intimate contact with the particles of the filler and a gradual merging of the two kinds of asphalt appears to occur as the water is driven off and the emulsified particles As this action takes place, each particle of the high melt point asphalt becomes enveloped in a film of softer, sticky asphalt, so that the particles of the ground material become closely adherent with the fibres. The coalescence or merging of the emulsified particles with the ground particles of high melt point asphalt during the driving off of the mixture from the pulp, produces a better final product than when sand or other filler is employed because of the better bond obtained between the particles of emulsified material and the particles of filler. In the final product, the filling particles aremade up of a hard core and a softer exterior, the degree of hardness decreasing from poses the asphalt may amount to as little as 25 terial, such as paper.

to 30% of the dry weight of the paper although for products to be used for roofing and the like a much higher percentage of asphalt is desirable and the amount may run from 150 to 200% of the dry .weightfof the paper. When a filler of high melt point asphalt is used, together with emulsified asphalt, the total amount of asphalt present may be divided between the two types of asphalt in varying proportions, depending on the characteristics of the final product desired. For example, where the final product contains 200% of asphalt based on the dry weight of the fibrous materials, this total amount of asphalt may be equally divided between the hard asphalt used as the filler and the relatively lower melt point asphalt present originally as an emulsion. The greater the proportion of the high melt point asphalt, the thicker the sheet that can be built up and the less is the tendency of that sheet to collapse on drying. However, since the low melt point asphalt acts as the adhesive binder, it is evident that the proportionof the lower melt point asphalt cannot be reduced too far .since otherwise the product would not have the proper cohesion.

.I have obtained excellent results in the production of fibrous products by using asphalt of 185 to 220 F. melt point as the filling material and asphalt having a melt point of 120 to 150 F. as the material which is emulsified. When sucha hard asphalt is used, it may be reduced to the desired finely divided condition by being introduced into the hammer mill with the fibrous ma- The ground asphalt and small pieces of paper then pass together into the soaking tank and thence into the pulping apparatus. The character of the ground asphalt is not changed during this treatment and it does not tend to become sticky or adhesive. The'mixture of pulp, ground asphalt, and emulsion discharged from the defibring and emulsifying apparatus is.

deposited on the wire belt in the filter in the usual way, the layer is dewatered and then dried.

The new process makes it possible to produce sheets of any desired thickness in. a single ply without laminations and these sheets are of suba continuous operation and these shingles have a natural rough surface which cannot be obtained in ordinary prepared shingles manufactured by ordinary processes. The shingles may have a durable fireproof coating by the application of cement to the outer surface of the layer as heretofore described and various color effects may also be obtained. i

What I claim: I

l. A fibrous product which comprises fibrous material, a bituminous material acting as a binder, and colloidal substances present in the fibrous material prior to its reduction to a fibrous state, and a detergent, said substances being present as an emulsifying agent and the product being free of additional emulsifying agents, the product having the form of a sheet of substantial thickness without lamination.

'2. A fibrous product which comprises defibred paper stock, a bituminous material acting as a binder, and the colloidal substances present in the stock and a detergent serving as the emulsifying agents, said product being free of additional emulsifying agents and having the form of a sheet of substantial thicknesswithout lamination.

3. A fibrous product which comprises fibrous material, bituminous material distributed therethrough and serving as a binder, an emulsifying agent distributed through the fibrous material and a coating containing cementitious material on the surface of the product, the coating substance permeating the fibrous mass in the vicinity of the coated surface to a substantial extent.

4. A fibrous product which comprises fibrous material, bituminous material distributed therethrough and serving as a binder, and a coating containing cement on at least one surface of the product, the coating material also being present within the fibrous mass in the vicinity of the coated surface.

5. A fibrous product which comprises paper stock reduced to fibrous form, asphalt distributed through the stock, the colloidal substances freed from the stock by defibring and a detergent acting as an emulsifying agent and the fibrous mass being free of additional emulsifying agents, and a coating including cement on at least one surface of the product.

6. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion in suspension in water, masking a foraminous surface to subdivide it into smaller areas, depositing the mixture upon'said surface by means of high vacuum, and drying the deposited material to render the emulsion adhesive. 5 8. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, depositing the mixture. by means of high vacuum to produce a cake,,and distributing coating material on one surface of the cake while it is still subjected to the vacuum. f

. 9. A method of making fibrous products which [comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, depositing the mixture by means of high vacuum to produce a cake, distributing coating material on one surface of the cake while it is still subjected to the l vacuum, and drying the cake.

10. A method of making fibrous products which foraminous surface to subdivide it into smaller areas, depositing the mixture upon said areas by means of high vacuum to form a plurality of cakes, continuing the vacuum action' upon the cakes after they have left the body of water to remove Water from the cakes, and thereafter dry.- ing the cakes.

11. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, masking a foraminous surface to subdivide it into a. plurality of smaller areas, depositing the mixture by means of highvacuum upon said areas to form cakes, continuing the vacuum action upon the cakes after they have left the body of water to remove water from the cakes, and thereafter dry ing. the cakes. v

12. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, depositing the mixture by ineansof high vacuum to form a cake, continuing the vacuum action upon the cake after it has'left the body of water to remove water from the cake, and, during the continued vacuum action, distributing a coating material upon the the paper by disintegration, and a detergent in 13. A method Y of making fibrous products surface of the cake.

which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, depositing the mixture by means of high vacuum to produce acake, dewatering the cake by high vacuum, distributing a coating material upon and drying the cake.

14, A mixture of making fibrous products which comprises producingv amixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, masking a Fourdrinier wire belt to subdivide it into .a plurality of relatively small areas, depositing the comprises producinga' mixture of fibrous'pulp' v and an emulsion suspended in water, masking a the surface of the cake duringthe dewatering,-

mixture upon said beltby high vacuum, and drying the deposited cakes.

15. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, continu ously depositing the pulp upon a Fourdrim'er wire I belt by high vacuum, distributing coating material upon the deposited cake, dewatering the cake by vacuum and thereby drawing the coating material into the cake, and drying the cake.

16. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and an emulsion suspended in water, depositing the mixture to form a cake by high vacuum, dewatering. the deposited cake by vacuum action, drying the deposited cake, and applying coating material to the dewatered cake. I

1'7. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing a mixture of fibrous pulp and emulsion suspended in water, depositing the mixture upon a Fourdrinier wire belt'having portions thereof masked to define the outlines of the deposit, removing portions of the deposited cakes to give them a tapering shape, dewatering the cakes, and drying them.

18. In a method of producing coated fibrous .products,-the steps of producing a cake containv the fibrous mass and acting as a binder.

. 20. A method of making fibrous products which comprises producing amixture of fibrous pulp, finely divided filling material and a bituminous emulsion in suspension in Water, depositing the mixture to produce a cake by high vacuum, and dewatering the cake.

21. In a method of making fibrous products, the steps of producing a pulp mixture of disintegrated paper, the loading materials freed from water, utilizing the loading materials and detergent in water for emulsifying a bituminous substance, mixing the pulp and emulsion, depositing the pulp-emulsion mixture to form a cake, and dewatering the cake.

22. In a method of making fibrous products, the steps of disintegrating paper suspended in a water solution of a detergent, thereafter separating the fibrous material from the liquid, introducing asphalt in fiuent condition into said liquid, and emulsifying the asphalt by agitation.

THOMAS ROBINSON.

will 

